


This is without a doubt the stupidest plan you’ve ever had. Of course I’m in.

by Reinedesglacesalavanille



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-30
Updated: 2015-06-30
Packaged: 2018-04-06 22:09:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4238382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reinedesglacesalavanille/pseuds/Reinedesglacesalavanille
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blackwall recommended to his lady, Catherine Trevelyan, to find a hobby. But mages and magic-lovers don’t have the same definition of the term than he does. Catherine and Dagna will soon have a plan for him that will change the way he perceives the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This is without a doubt the stupidest plan you’ve ever had. Of course I’m in.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pixiedurango](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pixiedurango/gifts).



> This is based on a prompt sent by pixiedurango on Tumblr. It's SFW. Enjoy!

Blackwall was sculpting a griffon’s head at his workshop when he heard familiar steps coming from behind. He put his tools on the table and turned to face his unexpected visitor.

“Hello, my lady. Weren’t you supposed to work on your project with Dagna today?” he asked in a soft voice.

 “Yes, that’s what I was doing, but we could need your help. Can you come with me at the forge?”

“May I inquire more details about the reason you need me?”

Catherine gave him a full scale puppy-eyed attack.

“I’ll explain there, if you follow me. Please?”

“Of course, my love, just give me some time to tidy up this place.”

Blackwall had encouraged Catherine to find a hobby as he had done himself. So much rested on her shoulders; in the rare spare time the Inquisition did allow her, it was important for her to clear her mind.

Of course, she had first asked to help him with his woodwork. They soon discovered that she didn’t have the patience for it and that it was difficult for the lefty that she was to use his standard tools. They both agreed that she would limit her tasks in the workshop to polishing and varnishing, since it didn’t require any particular skill.

Then, when the arcanist Dagna arrived at Skyhold, Catherine started to spend most of her days off at the forge or the library, returning to him only at sunset. As eager as he was to spend time with his lady, Blackwall was just relieved to see her happy and smiling when she came back to him.

Today, it was the first time Blackwall was entering Skyhold’s forge. The place was impressive, ancient, and the view on the mountains below was astonishing. He would almost have missed the diminutive dwarf at the bottom of the stairs, had she remained silent.

“Oh, hi, Warden Blackwall! So which one do you want to try first?” she said with her usual fast and playful tone.

Blackwall stared at Catherine interrogatively.

“Well, Dagna, I was about to explain to Blackwall the nature of our project.”

“Oh, I see… let me!”

“No, I brought him here, I will explain… follow me, my love.”

Blackwall was curious but somewhat anxious of the plan they had for him. His lady was a mage after all, and he wasn’t particularly at ease around magic.

Catherine started to explain:

“When I was an apprentice at Ostwick Circle, I theorized that it was possible to miniaturize magic staffs to make them more portable. A Tranquil made some of them following my instructions. The problem was that the potency of the magic was proportional to the size of the staff. Small staffs like those” she pointed at sticks on the table nearby, “could only produce flames big enough to light candles, and I have never been able to circumvent the problem. When I explained it to Dagna…”

“I thought of something entirely different.” Dagna was more than happy to continue the demonstration. “Mages would never let go of their staffs anyway, even if I did reach the results Catherine wanted in the first place with her sticks. But I thought: what if we could make sticks that amplifies the magic exponentially for the weakest users but blocked it at a predetermined potency for the strongest? We worked hard, but I think we did it!”

Blackwall didn’t understand a word of what she was saying, and even less the use they had for him.

“And why do you need me, ladies?”

“Well, my love, technically, every being that is connected to the Fade is also connected to its… magic. The next step in our experiment is to test our sticks with a non-mage that isn’t a Tranquil or a dwarf.”

Both of them looked at him with locked smiles.

“No, that is out of the question.”

“I told you it was a stupid plan.” Catherine told Dagna.

“We’ll have to find someone else.” Dagna concluded.

“Ladies, you won’t find anyone else and will talk about this to no one. This is blasphemy, heresy. Don’t you know the kind of people who surrounds you? Templars. A Qunari spy. The Left and Right Hands of the late Divine. It won’t matter that you are the Inquisitor if you start to juggle with concepts like those.”

That hit her hard. Blackwall could see it when she lowered her green-gray eyes.

“I am sorry, my love. When I suggested to you to find a hobby, I was thinking of something safer.”

“Damn, Blackwall. I am not researching ways to modify the space-time continuum. I leave that to Alexis. Those things are inoffensive. This one can cool your drinks, this one lights candles or a campfire and this, it can heal bruises and scratches. You want me to find a safe hobby. What did you think I did in the Circle, embroidery?”

Catherine wasn’t angry often, but when she was, she flared up fast.

“My  lady, don’t get angry. I will try it.”

“Really? I don’t want to force you to do something you don’t want to do.”

“I just want to make you happy. If you can assure me that it is inoffensive.”

Catherine took a stick that produced a small flame.

“If it works, that’s the worst it will do. We both have seen dragons that spewed bigger blazes and survived.”

“Indeed, my lady.”

Blackwall chuckled and took the stick from her hand.  Nothing happened.

“It’s not automatic, even for me.” Catherine explained. “You have to think about it, think of the heat. Become the flame. It can take a while, if it works at all. You should take a seat somewhere. And take your gloves off, it will help a little.”

Blackwall obliged. He could have merely pretended to try but he felt that telling any more lies to his lady would have tipped the balance toward his own downfall. So he followed her instructions.

After several minutes, Blackwall felt his hand tingling. Suddenly, a small flame popped-up at the end of the stick.

“It worked!” Catherine and Dagna shouted in unison.

They started to laugh and dance in each other’s arms like small girls.

Blackwall was totally dumbfounded. What had just happened completely challenged his conception of the world. It took time to sink in.

Catherine kneeled in front of him with a worried look.

“Are you alright, my love?”

“Yes, everything is fine.” He cupped her face with his bare hands. “What you discovered here, it will change everything common people think they know about mages. I am so proud of you, my lady.”

Those words made her glow. She sprang to kiss him intensely. Blackwall thought he felt sparks run under her skin.

They had almost forgotten Dagna’s presence until she coughed noisily. It made Catherine end their embrace.

“Sorry, Lady Dagna.” said Blackwall. “Congratulations are in order.”

“Thank you. It’s only a beginning. There’s a long way to go before we can commercialize our invention.”

“Whoa.” Blackwall stood up. “This… this discovery will raise many questions. Some will oppose to it. I know it is important to both of you, but until Corypheus is defeated, you can’t risk any dissension in your camp. For now, it must remain secret, my ladies. I would recommend to… dispose of them.”

Catherine’s gaze moved toward the sticks lying on the table. A small, contented smile adorned her lips.

“You’re right, Blackwall. We will keep it under secrecy for now. I can’t afford to make new enemies and establish another battlefront in my own backyard. I am sorry, Dagna.”

“No need to be sorry, Inquisitor. I understand, and it was fun working with you. We know it works; I’ll be able to make new ones when the time is right.”

Catherine nodded in assent to Dagna’s words. She took the sticks and reluctantly threw them in the flames.

Blackwall took his lady in his arms and apposed a chaste kiss on her front.  

“One day, my lady, the world will be ready for what you discovered.”

Catherine sighed.

“I hope so.”


End file.
